Space Station Spotting

[skeeterm5]

Brilliant view from very rural Dorset. Just finished watching the transit.

S

[jeff666]

Just seen it go over Bournemouth, quick question for those in the know ? how many people on board ?

[skeeterm5]

6 - I just googled it after seeing it

S

[Eric Mc]

It has a normal complement of six - although this can go up or down depending on crew transfers.

[jeff666]

Eric Mc said:

It has a normal complement of six - although this can go up or down depending on crew transfers.

Thanks...

[Eric Mc]

It's only a couple of weeks since the last changeover. Sometimes you can spot Soyuz or Progress supply craft chasing the ISS just before they dock.

[threespires]

We saw it, easily convinced 5 year old it was Santa.

[Eric Mc]

You rotter What happens if tehy see it again tomorrow - or in a few months time?

[threespires]

Test runs !

[Eric Mc]

If your kid is smart, he'll ask "Why doesn't Santa burn up on re-entry?".

[Itsallicanafford]

Chaos,

Afternoon and happy Christmas!

My dad missed the ISS last night, will you be able to see it tonight?

Cheers

[dickymint]

Itsallicanafford said:

Chaos,

Afternoon and happy Christmas!

My dad missed the ISS last night, will you be able to see it tonight?

Cheers

Yep nice early one 16:29

[Eric Mc]

None for the next few nights.

The next visible pass is 29 December at 19.44. It will be no higher than 40 degrees above the horizon, so not overhead.

[dickymint]

Eric Mc said:

None for the next few nights.

The next visible pass is 29 December at 19.44. It will be no higher than 40 degrees above the horizon, so not overhead.

What info/settings do you use Eric? I have these lined up.....

Faint but certainly visible

[Mr_C]

Yep we saw it around ten past 6 ripping across the night sky quite low.

[Eric Mc]

You sometimes can see the ISS even though websites don't list it as a "visible pass". I've seen a few passes in broad daylight. If you know exactly when and where to look - you can see it, even against a fairly bright blue background.

[Twobad]

I don't know if anyone has posted this link before, and I'm not reading 124 pages to find out, but you can sign up with NASA for e-mail notifications of when a visible ISS pass is going to occur at your location.

In my experience the service works well.

http://spotthestation.nasa.gov/

You get a quick e-mail with:
"Time: Thu Dec 25 4:31 PM, Visible: 4 min, Max Height: 56 degrees, Appears: WSW, Disappears: ESE"

[Eric Mc]

I'm sure it was mentioned sometime in the past.

There are numerous ways of finding out about ISS passes. I find heavens-above the easiest for me - and keeping an eye on this thread .

[central]

Clear sky at last. Tonight's pass is at 18:44.

[L100NYY]

Can I see the ISS tonight? In the South sky? It's like a bright star that almost seems to change colour (with the naked eye, no telescope here!)??